"If I wanted America to fail"

[KoopaDasher]

I would agree with this. However, it seems they made the right decision with GM. General Motors is producing and selling more cars than any manufacturer in the world right now, and has paid back their debts. One of the very few stories of a successful government bailout.

I can never support a government "bailout" of a company. It flies completely in the face of the free market. General Motors failed because the chose to produce high-cost, inefficient vehicles of poor quality, poor longevity, and poor design. They failed to understand the market, and they failed to meet the growing demands for more fuel-efficient vehicles at a lower cost. They should have been allowed to fall on their asses. A lot of people would have lost their jobs, yes. But they would have found jobs as the other vehicle companies expanded to fill the need. Toyota didn't need a bailout. Neither did Honda. Volkswagen is expanding by leaps and bounds. None of them needed a bailout. It's unfair to legitimate businesses that understand the market for a company like GM to be rewarded for their failures. Why are we supporting businesses like GM, when there are others out there like Tesla who are legitimately innovating the market?

You can complain all you want about how GM is making electric cars now, but that's only because the government is paying them to do it. They were in the business of making bigger and less efficient Hummers until they collapsed.

[Spiderpig24]

I can never support a government "bailout" of a company. It flies completely in the face of the free market. General Motors failed because the chose to produce high-cost, inefficient vehicles of poor quality, poor longevity, and poor design. They failed to understand the market, and they failed to meet the growing demands for more fuel-efficient vehicles at a lower cost. They should have been allowed to fall on their asses. A lot of people would have lost their jobs, yes. But they would have found jobs as the other vehicle companies expanded to fill the need. Toyota didn't need a bailout. Neither did Honda. Volkswagen is expanding by leaps and bounds. None of them needed a bailout. It's unfair to legitimate businesses that understand the market for a company like GM to be rewarded for their failures. Why are we supporting businesses like GM, when there are others out there like Tesla who are legitimately innovating the market?

You can complain all you want about how GM is making electric cars now, but that's only because the government is paying them to do it. They were in the business of making bigger and less efficient Hummers until they collapsed.

I agree with what you're saying, the government shouldn't ever bailout a company, and I highly doubt GM would be getting into the electric/hybrid vehicles if it weren't for the government imposing on them. It just so happens that they are doing very well now, but like you said, it shouldn't have happened. GM should have been an example for the many other companies and auto manufacturers out there, that actions like that will get them no where but bankrupt. Their vehicles were high priced, engineered to be serviced regularly, had terrible fuel economy and were made so that it was nearly impossible to work on the car yourself. GM was about making money and nothing else, they didn't care about fuel emissions or efficiency until the government stepped in. It's nothing like the manufacturers out there that are making more efficient vehicles on their own, without being under pressure of government power. Like you said, Tesla and Toyota and Honda are doing great, but they do need to lower the cost of their vehicles, or make an efficient everyday non-supercar for the average consumer. VW even announced a hybrid vehicle at the Detroit Auto Show this year, because they know the consumers are interested in it. GM should have had to save themselves.